District Music Hall Weekly Round up: 3 shows announced including Ben Folds & Sheng Wang

District Music Hall announced Sheng Wang, and Gary Numan Ben Folds this week. Tickets are on sale now at districtmusichall.com

Sheng Wang
District Music Hall – 71 Wall Street, Norwalk CT 06850
July 12, 2025
Tickets are on sale now via districtmusichall.com

Sheng Wang

Sheng Wang is a comedian, actor and writer originally from Houston, TX. His first Netflix special, Sweet & Juicy, released in September 2022 and was produced and directed by Ali Wong. He was a featured stand-up on HBO’s “2 Dope Queens” special and also wrote for the ABC show “Fresh Off the Boat.” Sheng resides in Los Angeles and in his time off, he enjoys exploring botanical gardens and discovering new ways to snack.

Gary Numan
District Music Hall – 71 Wall Street, Norwalk CT 06850
October 18, 2025
Tickets are on sale now via districtmusichall.com

Gary Numan

May, 1979. It’s an ordinary Thursday evening, which means it’s time for Top of the Pops. Amidst a zeitgeist of punk and disco, the show suddenly appears to be interrupted by a transmission from the future. A luminous synth riff echoes out, a beat drives on and up steps an otherworldly figure – part robot, part alien – to deliver an enigmatic lyric depicting some kind of android existence in a dystopian future. It’s Gary Numan fronting Tubeway Army for their breakthrough hit ‘Are ‘Friends’ Electric?’.

Of the millions that are watching, few would’ve recognised that this moment foreshadows the shape of music to come, from synth-pop to industrial and alt-pop. That, however, can’t stop it igniting the imagination of an audience that would swell into a devoted following.

Fast-forward to January, 2021. Numan’s first single ‘Intruder’ (from the Intruder album) pulsates ominously as if it’s soundtracking an imminent threat. As austere synths loom like shadows and industrial beats are detonated, the beguiling hook towers like a beacon in the darkness. It’s visionary and venomous, with a narrative that imagines the Earth growing angry at mankind’s actions, and more than willing to fight back. In the accompanying video, Numan looks even more out of time than he did back in 1979, like an intergalactic refugee fighting for his own existence.

Those two songs show how Numan has consistently fought against the grain to stick resolutely to his creative vision. In a career that spans over forty years, the music evolves and the themes change. But fans remain fascinated by Numan for the very fact that he’s so uncompromising.

Any story charting four decades will be a mixed blessing of momentous highs and meagre lows. The achievements are remarkable for someone who never made any concessions to mainstream success. Seven Top 10 singles, including ‘Are ‘Friends’ Electric?’ and the debut solo hit ‘Cars’; eight Top 10 albums, three of which topped the charts; and huge critical acclaim, most notably with the Inspiration Award at the prestigious Ivor Novellos.

Naturally, there were times when Numan was very much not in vogue. Sure, there would be ripples of rediscovery but there were years when his increasingly conceptual albums were primarily embraced by hardcore fans. He wasn’t troubling the charts, but audiences were still flocking to see him perform – almost every UK tour would include a sold-out show at the 5000 capacity Hammersmith Apollo.

Gradually, though, praise from Nine Inch Nails, Prince and David Bowie led to a reappraisal of his work. And that has been magnified in recent years with Kanye West, Lady Gaga and Dave Grohl citing him as an influence.

And so, a new narrative emerged. An unlikely icon returned to the top while making music that was darker, fiercer and more inventive than ever.

‘Splinter (Songs From A Broken Mind)’ set the ball rolling by peaking at #20 in 2013, its precise, post-industrial sound delving into Numan’s experiences with depression. He started a new deal with BMG in 2017 and released ‘Savage (Songs From A Broken World)’, an album which depicted earth as a barren wasteland in which humanity and culture had been largely crushed by the effects of global warming. ‘Savage’ hit #2 in the UK charts.

His next album, ‘Intruder’, presented a fresh but complementary narrative. It’s a philosophical examination of a potential future apocalypse: the planet can only survive by purging its inhabitants. ‘Intruder’ also hit #2 in the UK charts.

Numan explained: “‘Intruder’ looks at climate change from the planet’s point of view. If the Earth could speak, and feel things the way we do, what would it say? How would it feel? The songs, for the most part, attempt to be that voice, or at least try to express what I believe the earth must feel at the moment”.

The planet sees us as its children now grown into callous selfishness, with a total disregard for its well being. It feels betrayed, hurt and ravaged. Disillusioned and heartbroken it is now fighting back. Essentially, it considers human kind to be a mistake, a virus attacking the planet. Climate change is the undeniable sign of the Earth saying enough is enough, and finally doing what it needs to do to get rid of us, and explaining why it feels it has to do it.”

Partially written and recorded during lockdown, it’s no surprise that current circumstances have been assimilated into its themes. It’s especially evident in ‘The Gift’, which evolves from a sparse introduction into a resonant Middle-Eastern sonic motif. It imagines Covid-19 as the first weapon that the planet deploys in order to eradicate mankind and once again flourish.

While anger and vengeance rage in its opening chapters, ‘Intruder’ charts a wider spectrum of emotions. ‘Is This World Not Enough’ and ‘A Black Sun’ exude regret and then despair that this fate could’ve been avoided. The finale presents a black-hearted double-bill to bring the curtain down on the tale. First ‘Now And Forever’ offers a hope of eternity in the end days during its theatrical intensity, before the sparse, sorrowful ‘The End Of Dragons’ ends on the chilling reminder that what’s broken can’t always be fixed.

Collectively the album proves that Numan’s creative spark shows no sign of being extinguished.

Numan toured the Intruder album at over 130 shows around the world, finally ending in mid 2024 when he toured the US with Ministry. Since then he’s been back in the studio writing and recording his next (and 23rd) album, due out in early 2026. This one looks at a near future world where humanity lives or dies based on the whims of an AI controlled system. He did take a few weeks out of the studio to play a major UK tour in the Fall to celebrate the 45th Anniversary of his ‘Replicas’ and ‘The Pleasure Principle’ albums, both UK Number 1’s when first released.

That’s just a snapshot of the tale behind one of music’s most singular talents. The full story can be found in Numan’s critically acclaimed autobiography ‘(R)evolution’, which The Observer described as an, “exhaustive, entertaining and often poignant life story.” What comes next will surely be just as intriguing.

Ben Folds
District Music Hall – 71 Wall Street, Norwalk CT 06850
October 21, 2025
Tickets are on sale now via districtmusichall.com

Ben Folds

Ben Folds is widely regarded as one of the major music influencers of our generation.

The Emmy-nominated singer-songwriter-composer has created an enormous body of genre-bending music that includes pop albums with Ben Folds Five, multiple solo albums, and numerous collaborative records.

His latest pop solo album was released in 2023 to rave reviews and sold-out performances. He released his first Christmas album in 2024 and last Fall recorded a LIVE album slated for release in 2025 with the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) at the Kennedy Center in DC where he served for eight years as the first Artistic Advisor to the NSO.

He currently tours as a pop artist, while also performing with some of the world’s greatest symphony orchestras.

A New York Times Best Selling author and former podcast host, Ben is also working on new compositions for film, tv and theatre. He also frequently guest stars in films and TV.

In 2022, Ben launched a music education charitable initiative in his native state of North Carolina entitled “Keys For Kids,” which provides funds and keyboards to existing nonprofits that offer free or affordable piano lessons to school-age children from economically-disadvantaged households. And he continually advocates for improving public policies for the arts and arts education on the national level as a member of Americans For The Arts and the Arts Action Fund.

Lindsey Kraft

Lindsey Kraft is a multi-faceted artist – actress, singer, and composer. You may recognize her from various TV roles including Netflix’s Grace and Frankie, HBO’s Getting On and most recently Netflix’s Obliterated.

She continues as the opening act for Ben Folds, where she’ll be performing her brand of theatrical pop songs including songs from her musical, “love, me,” a one-woman show workshopped recently in LA for a LIVE album. During an opening performance for Ben at the Kennedy Center in 2023, she received a glowing review by DC Music Review which wrote that the audience “was treated and transfixed by the performance of Lindsey Kraft. Within the first few moments of her piece, concertgoers realized how perfect the pairing was. A burgeoning newcomer to musical performances, Kraft, in addition to her brilliant piano playing and songs, masterfully interacted with and entertained the audience with her witty and sincere songs.”

She characterizes her songs as deeply personal, funny, and sad, her sound
inspired by Carly Simon, Carole King, Billy Joel, Bette Midler, Randy
Newman, and Broadway (but like, only the good shows).

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• District Music Hall weekly round-up: 4 shows announced, including Matt Berninger of the National

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Matt Berninger of The National to Perform at District Music Hall on June 1

Matt Berninger, the distinctive baritone voice behind Grammy-winning indie rock band The National, is set to perform at District Music Hall in Norwalk, Connecticut, on Sunday, June 1, 2025, at 8:00 p.m. This concert is part of his solo tour supporting his upcoming album, Get Sunk, which is scheduled for release on May 30. Known for his introspective lyrics and emotive performances, Berninger’s solo work continues to explore themes of vulnerability and human connection. Click here to purchase tickets.

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District Music Hall Weekly Round up: 3 shows announced including Ben Folds & Sheng Wang